Text Size

-

+

reset

Having served as a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, she was expected to do well on the cash front in this race — and she brought in $1.5 million in the first quarter of this year, more than Corbett.

But her results have been dwarfed by her self-funded Democratic opponent Tom Wolf. The York, Pa., businessman, with $10 million, put ads on the air starting in late January and has quickly risen to — and maintained — a double-digit lead in polls over Schwartz and the other two Democratic candidates, State Treasurer Rob McCord and former state environmental protection director Katie McGinty.

But huge numbers of voters remain undecided — 33 percent in the most recent poll — and Schwartz and national Democrats have expressed confidence that she can catch up to Wolf.

“The most important thing for her to do now is to present herself as a credible alternative to Tom Wolf — while at the same time also doing everything she can to turn out the woman vote,” said Dan Fee, a veteran of former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell’s gubernatorial campaigns.

Wolf and Schwartz differ little on the issues. But Schwartz took her criticism of Wolf to the airwaves on Friday, launching an ad alleging that Wolf’s leadership at his family’s cabinet-making company resulted in hundreds of workers losing their jobs. Wolf pushed back with an ad of his own, featuring company employees saying he “reinvented the business model and saved jobs.”

Wolf’s campaign has made a play for female voters as well, running an ad last month on equal pay that featured his two adult daughters.

National women’s groups, such as EMILY’s List and Planned Parenthood, keen to oust Corbett, have backed Schwartz, who can barely hide how eager she is to take on the embattled incumbent.

At the same time, Corbett’s team views Schwartz as an ideal opponent.

Republicans believe Corbett, 64, who was elected as part of the tea party wave of 2010, has his best shot against Schwartz because he can cast her as a Philadelphia liberal who doesn’t understand the more conservative parts of the state. Her history with the long-shuttered women’s health center writes its own anti-abortion attack ad.

No incumbent governor in Pennsylvania has been defeated for reelection since the state constitution was changed in the 1960s to allow for second terms. Corbett declined to be interviewed for this story. His campaign demurred when asked about its preferred opponent, with spokesman Billy Pitman saying the governor would “gladly” run against “any of the Democrats.”

But the governor’s team has, until very recently, singled Schwartz out throughout the primary season. After Schwartz ran an ad touting her role in passing Obamacare, Corbett’s campaign blasted an email to supporters calling her “our extreme liberal opponent.”

Corbett’s camp dismisses the idea that women’s issues will be front and center in the general election, and instead looks poised to hit the Democratic candidates over their record on fiscal and economic matters. Yet it has taken steps to soften the governor’s image among women: it launched the “Women for Corbett” coalition last month, and Corbett’s wife, Susan, appeared in an ad touting his record on education.

Schwartz disputed the notion that her past in the women’s health field or position on the issue would be baggage. In fact, she argues it can help her.

“There’s a sharp contrast between me and Tom Corbett — there certainly is on access to women’s health services,” Schwartz said. “If he wants to raise that issue … I think that brings me independents and moderate Republicans who find Tom Corbett’s position the extreme one.”

‘A lady governor?’

Just as Democrats nationally are focusing on issues such as equal pay and the minimum wage in order to appeal to women — especially single women — Schwartz already, even in the primary stage, has tailored her ads to reach that constituency.

Her first one focused on her role in passing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which she considers her signature achievement during her time as a state legislator; another featured the line about the “old boys’ club.”

The ad on the Affordable Care Act was rather risky in a state where the health law isn’t that popular; but because it rallies the Democratic base, and it is generally more popular with women than men, analysts say it could serve her in the long run.

Schwartz’s appeal to women is complicated by the fact that she’s not the only one in the race: Some supporters worry that Katie McGinty could pull support away from Schwartz on primary day. But at this stage, McGinty is far behind in fundraising and the polls.

Veteran Franklin & Marshall College pollster Terry Madonna suggested that female voters could account for up to 54 percent of the electorate in the May 20 primary.

In the 2008 Pennsylvania primary between President Obama and Hillary Clinton, high support among women helped propel Clinton to a 10-point victory: Women made up 58 percent of the Democratic electorate that year, according to exit polls, and Clinton won them by an 18-point margin.

Schwartz represents a congressional district that includes part of Philadelphia and part of Montgomery County, one of the key swing counties in the state. In that sense, she has a strong geographic base many of the other candidates don’t — but it’s also a base that’s notoriously hard to get to the polls in low-turnout election years.

Schwartz teems with energy on the trail, chatting up potential voters and reminding them of what she’s lightheartedly joked is the “best-kept secret”: the date of the primary. She mostly sticks to talking points, but at times relays personal anecdotes in a bid to connect, mentioning her son who went to Philadelphia’s Central High School, for example, or what it’s like to be the child of an immigrant.

During a series of campaign meet-and-greet stops throughout northeast Philadelphia, the topic of gender kept finding its way into Schwartz’s conversations.

“Are you going to vote for me? Do you want to have a lady governor?” she asked two young girls eating pancakes with their mother in a diner. The girls, obviously not yet of voting age, smiled and nodded.

At another diner, a table of five older men were excited to meet Schwartz.

“I heard your ad — the old boys’ network!” one man said. Looking around the table, he added: “We’re the old boys — but we’re not in a network.”

One older man at The Dining Car, a diner in northeast Philadelphia, told Schwartz he didn’t like her position on “reproductive issues.” Schwartz politely listened to what he had to say, finally concluding: “I respect your position, but we’re going to have to disagree.”

The man considered that for a minute, then replied: “I’ll vote for you because I like the other sleazeballs less.”